Clutch question

The bike is a 05.5 950S with approx 17k miles. I recently purchased this Adventure to compliment, or possibly replace my SE, and have noticed a distinct difference in the clutch feel between the two bikes.

On the Adventure, the resistance on the clutch lever seems to vary between firm for the full throw, vs no resistance for the first 1/4 throw. It seems when you pull in the clutch to shift during hard acceleration, the clutch lever won't have any initial resistance for the first 1/4 to 1/3 of it's normal travel. Other than when accelerating, the clutch is firm for the entire travel.

I had an extra .5mm CJ oil jet on hand so I installed it, but no difference.

On my SE the clutch pull is firm no matter how hard I ride it.

My local dealer says he thinks the clutch basket is getting notchy and will need to be replaced, but that doesn't really make sense to me. I've had dirt bike clutch baskets get notched and they didn't feel like this.

What do you suppose is going on?

On a side note, I really like the Adventure, and think it might make the SE expendable (if I don't have to start throwing a bunch of money at a major clutch repair).

I also have an 05. Mine has 84,000 miles. My clutch does the same thing and has since I got it (in 08 with 600 miles). As you said, it is only on acceleration and only with quick clutch work. It seems to be only in the lower gears and if you give it a moment, it feels fine again. My clutch does not slip nor are there any other symptoms - only upon hard acceleration. I wouldn't be too concerned.

your problem sounds more hidraulic to me than clutch related.
If you haven't change the slave cyl might be a good time to start thinking about it. Oberon makes a good piece and evoluzione went off the market. Also, since you're in there you might as well change the clutch master cyl kit just to make sure everything is in proper order.
Also, like the guy said above, 2.5w suspension fluid is awesome, altough you can use the remanents of the 5w from your front suspension.
Pay attention to the clutch hidraulic system, is one of the few things on this bikes that can go wrong. (i prefer fixing this stuff before hand in my garage than on the trail.

Thanks for the replies, and drued, thanks for the reassurance that it's probably nothing to worry about.

I don't think the problem is related to the hydraulics, but I've been known to be wrong more than I care admit. The fact that it seems to occur only upon hard acceleration makes me think the push rod is moving away from the ball in the slave cylinder, so the ball moves a slight distance with no resistance before engaging the clutch push rod. For the push rod to move though, the clutch plates would have to separate, right? I don't notice any clutch slippage when this occurs.

The clutch behaves flawlessly, with no other symptoms of any problems, except for this issue.

The previous owner had the slave replaced with another stock unit approx. 5k miles ago because the o ring failed. I took the slave off and inspected it when I did the oil jet, and there is no sign of leakage.

You may want to double check your "type" of clutch push rod ? My 05.5 (made early 05) still had the early 2 pc. clutch push rod installed (totally diff. from my 06 S). I never had a problem with the 2pc. but have heard of some,who have. You may want to check it out.
Ride safe!

I haven't opened anything up yet to investigate, but I've been paying close attention to whats going on when this clutch weirdness occurs and here's what I've discovered:

The reduced clutch throw only occurs when the bike is under acceleration in 3rd gear.

Everything is fine as I accelerate through first and second but the instant I shift into thrid the clutch lever comes back halfway to the bar. When I shift into fourth the clutch returns to normal. When the bike is third gear but not under acceleration the clutch lever is normal, but if I accelerate, the clutch lever starts getting soft. If I accelerate and then snap the throttle closed to introduce engine braking, the clutch lever returns to normal. And this only happens when the bike is in third gear.

Whats going on here and why does it only happen under third gear acceleration? I'm stumped.